Philadelphia 76ers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey Could Return On Friday

December 26th, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Third-year guard Tyrese Maxey, who has been sidelined since November 18 due to a broken bone in his left foot, could return to the Sixers‘ lineup as soon as Friday’s contest in New Orleans, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Maxey will likely have his minutes limited upon his return to the lineup, per Charania. Even a somewhat restricted Maxey will be a huge boon for one of the league’s hottest teams — Philadelphia has won eight straight games.

The most recent official update on the 22-year-old’s status came a few days ago, when head coach Doc Rivers said the combo guard was “making great progress” and was “close” after a Thursday workout. Maxey had a strong start to the 2022/23 season prior to getting injured against the Bucks, averaging career highs of 22.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 4.4 APG and 1.0 SPG, along with a .462/.422/.738 shooting line.

Fellow guard De’Anthony Melton is likely to move back to the bench once Maxey returns to action. Shake Milton, who had several strong performances as a starter when Maxey and James Harden were out, could see his minutes reduced as well.

The Sixers are currently 20-12, the No. 5 seed in the East, but only trail No. 2 Milwaukee by one-and-a-half games.

Georges Niang Responds To Challenge From Doc Rivers

December 26th, 2022 at 10:40am CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers forward Georges Niang credits a verbal jab from coach Doc Rivers for inspiring his 12-point fourth quarter in Sunday’s win at New York, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. After Rivers asked Niang if he would ever “make a freaking shot … or are we just on vacation?” he responded by hitting four three-pointers in that final frame. “We have a good friendly banter, going back and forth,” Niang said. “I think when you have a coach that can challenge you to continuously be better, that kind of motivates me to continue to keep digging deeper and being better.”

Latest On James Harden

December 26th, 2022 at 8:03am CST by Arthur Hill

James Harden had little to say about an ESPN report Sunday that he’s considering a return to Houston in free agency next summer, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Whether the report was legitimate or just a way of letting the Sixers know that he won’t be giving them a discount again, Harden denied any knowledge of it and brushed aside questions before Philadelphia’s Christmas Day game.

“Why would you ask me about that on Christmas, man?” he told a reporter. “You didn’t say Merry Christmas or nothing. You asked me about something that I ain’t even … I’m not answering. I didn’t see nothing.”

The two-year, $68.6MM contract that Harden signed in late July contains a player option for 2023/24. Harden could have demanded more money, but his $33MM salary left the Sixers with enough room under the hard cap to sign three of his friends and former Houston teammates, P.J. Tucker, Danuel House and Montrezl Harrell.

Harden didn’t feel like addressing the rumor after the game either, indicating that he’s happy with the Sixers, who have strung together eight straight wins.

“I’m here. We are playing very well,” he said. “And I don’t know where the report came from. But I’m very excited to be here. We are playing well, and we’re continuing to get better.”

There’s more on the Harden rumor:

Nets officials were concerned last year that Harden had an interest in going back to Houston, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Brooklyn considered the Rockets to be as much of a threat as the Sixers were to sign Harden in free agency, Fischer adds. Sources tell Fischer that Harden began to miss playing in Houston, as well as his position with the organization and in the community, shortly after being traded to Brooklyn in January of 2021.
Sunday’s report doesn’t change anything about the way Sixers management will approach Harden’s free agency, per Kyle Neubeck of Philly.com. The organization was always prepared for the possibility that the star guard will have other offers to consider. The team is committed to aiming for a championship this season with Harden and Joel Embiid as its main components and will hope to sign Harden to a long-term deal in the offseason.
If Harden is considering an exit, any trade involving Tyrese Maxey becomes far less likely, adds Neubeck, who states that the Sixers currently aren’t close to making any deals.
Harden could be a welcome addition as a leader for the Rockets’ collection of young talent, suggests Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston can have more than $45MM in cap room, and there aren’t a lot of other prime options on the upcoming free agent market. However, Feigen also questions whether Harden would be worth a major investment when he’s about to turn 34.

Knicks Discussed Acquiring Tobias Harris

December 25th, 2022 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks pondered the possibility of pursuing Sixers forward Tobias Harris in a trade prior to their recent winning streak, Ian Begley of SNY TV reports (video link).

Harris’ name has been bandied about on the rumor mill for quite awhile and The Athletic reported last month that the Sixers were gauging interest in the veteran forward. It appears that the Knicks had some interest and could continue to look at Harris, depending upon how the next few weeks play out.

Harris had eight points, six rebounds and two assists in Philadelphia’s 119-112 win over the Knicks on Sunday as New York lost its third straight after an eight-game winning streak.

“The Knicks, at least internally, talked about the idea of acquiring Tobias Harris via trade before their winning streak started,” Begley said. “… Tom Thibodeau spoke highly of Harris before the game. That’s just one name to keep an eye on.”

With the Sixers’ addition of James Harden and the emergence of Tyrese Maxey last season, Harris’ numbers dropped somewhat last season. He averaged 17.2 points per game, compared to 19.5 PPG the previous season. This season, Harris is averaging 17.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

Harris is highly respected around the league for his professionalism, but his salary makes him difficult to trade. He’s making $37.6MM this season and $39.3MM in 2023/24, the final year of his contract.

“I know that he does have some fans in the organization,” Begley said. “He’s making a lot of money. It would be a big trade to pull off salary-wise but it’s at least something the Knicks kicked around internally prior to this winning streak.”

Philadelphia, naturally, has championship aspirations, so it’s difficult to gauge what it would hope to get for Harris and still remain in the hunt for an Eastern Conference title. The Knicks would love to move Evan Fournier, who’s making $18MM in the second year of a four-year contract that includes a team option in the final year.

Derrick Rose, also out of the Knicks’ rotation, is earning $14.5MM this season with a team option on next year’s salary. Cam Reddish has an expiring $5.9MM deal. But the Sixers would also likely want a younger, cheaper player who could take Harris’ spot, such as Obi Toppin ($5.3MM), to help them this season. Toppin is currently sidelined by a leg injury.

Harden is reportedly considering a reunion with the Rockets in free agency next summer.

James Harden Considering Return To Rockets In Free Agency

December 25th, 2022 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

Just two years after requesting a trade out of Houston, star Sixers guard James Harden is seriously mulling the possibility of returning to the Rockets when he becomes eligible for free agency in the summer of 2023, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

According to Wojnarowski, Harden and his camp have been “openly weighing Houston in recent weeks and months.”

Wojnarowski describes the city as having a “magnetic pull” on the former MVP due to the community, lifestyle, and family he had there. Having spent seven-and-a-half years of his NBA career with the Rockets, Harden could choose to return to Houston if he opts for “comfort and familiarity” over a chance to immediately contend for a title, Woj writes.

However, that doesn’t mean Harden is set on leaving Philadelphia. The Sixers have been on a roll lately and Harden’s on-court partnership with Joel Embiid finally seems to be firing on all cylinders. If that success continues and the team enjoys a deep playoff run in the spring, the 33-year-old guard would likely become more inclined to stick around beyond this season, Wojnarowski writes.

A free agent this past summer, Harden could have signed with the 76ers for up to five years, but decided to negotiate a shorter-team deal, signing a two-year, $68.6MM pact with a player option for the second season.

The contract – which saw Harden accept a significant pay cut – freed up space under the hard cap for Philadelphia to add a couple free agents (P.J. Tucker and Danuel House). There was a belief outside the organization that the agreement came with an understanding that Daryl Morey and the Sixers’ front office would be willing to offer Harden a more lucrative long-term contract next summer.

Although Harden has connections with Morey and CEO Tad Brown in Philadelphia, his working relationships with Embiid and head coach Doc Rivers are more of a “work in progress,” according to Wojnarowski.

However, as Wojnarowski points out, the current version of the Rockets isn’t the same one Harden remembers — his exit came just after Morey and longtime head coach Mike D’Antoni left the organization, and the roster has also undergone a major overhaul in recent years. If Harden is legitimately interested in returning to Houston, the franchise would have to consider how reacquiring him would impact the development of core pieces like Jalen Green, Jabari Smith, and Kevin Porter, Woj observes.

For what it’s worth, Houston projects to have a substantial chunk of cap space, so from a practical perspective, signing Harden as a free agent would be doable. ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) has the club projected at about $45MM in cap room, and that number would increase without Eric Gordon‘s $20.9MM non-guaranteed salary on the books.

Harden, who has made 10 consecutive All-Star teams, has missed some time due to injury this season, but has been productive when healthy, averaging 21.4 points, 10.9 assists, and 6.6 rebounds in 37.8 minutes per night. His .364 3PT% is his highest mark since 2018/19.

Sixers Notes: Milton, Trade Deadline, Harden, Embiid

December 24th, 2022 at 2:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Sixers guard Shake Milton, a free agent in 2023, proved critical in helping Philadelphia stay afloat in November without its starting backcourt of James Harden and Tyrese Maxey. He has remained an important role player for the club even with Harden back in the lineup, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

“I remember early in my career there used to be highs and lows,” Milton told Fischer. “You never really know what it feels like until you’re in it… You gotta fight internally every day to make sure you’re in a good spot, make sure you’re putting yourself in the best place to succeed. It definitely took me my years to kind of go through that, to know how to move and how to stay with it.”

This season, the 6’5″ combo guard out of SMU is averaging 11.2 PPG on .509/.361/.849 shooting splits for the Sixers across 27 games. He is also contributing 3.4 APG and 3.3 RPG.

There’s more out of the City of Brotherly Love:

Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer provides a Sixers trade deadline primer, exploring which players could be moved. Mizell notes that, following an injury-plagued and uneven start to the season, Philadelphia has stabilized into looking like a deep championship contender. The team is currently fifth in the East with a 19-12 record. Still, the club could look into upgrading its frontcourt reserves behind starters Joel Embiid and P.J. Tucker, and could perhaps seek a more traditional backup guard behind starters Harden and Maxey.
Sixers All-Stars Embiid and Harden are beginning to truly click as a dynamic duo in their first full season together, writes Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. “Constant work, constant work,” Harden said of how the two have been working to thrive together. “Talking about it, communication, go out there, do it… Obviously, you want to see each other succeed, so if I ask him something or tell him something and vice versa, he’ll do it.”
In their eight contests together since Harden returned from injury, Embiid is posting averages of 36.1 PPG while shooting 56% from the floor, along with 9.9 RPG and 3.8 APG, per Neubeck. “As soon as [the opposing team goes] to the switching, what we’ve gotten better at is just the timing,” Embiid said. “Knowing when he gets the iso, or I get the ball at the elbow, or I go to the post, that’s where we’ve gotten at. Just the timing, us working together, always talking, and he’s been great. Been on him about taking more catch-and-shoot, and he’s been doing that.”
Can the Sixers emerge out of the Eastern Conference? Weigh in on today’s Community Shootaround.

Community Shootaround: Best Team In The East

December 24th, 2022 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

When we took a closer look at the Western Conference earlier this week, we pointed out that the No. 1 seed had changed hands many times this season, with eight different teams holding it at some point and five of those clubs spending at least six days as the West’s top team.

That hasn’t been the case in the Eastern Conference, where the Celtics and Bucks have essentially shared the top seed all season. According to Basketball-Reference, Milwaukee held it from October 24 to November 13, Boston had it from November 14 to December 17, and the two teams have traded it back and forth during the past week.

Milwaukee and Boston have made a strong case to be considered the East’s most serious championship threats. The Celtics have been especially impressive, posting the NBA’s best offensive rating (116.6) and net rating (+6.0) while getting an MVP-caliber performance from Jayson Tatum. They’ve also spent most of the season playing without their best rim protector, Robert Williams, and could have an even higher ceiling now that he’s back.

The Bucks have stuck right there with them though, buoyed by the league’s third-best defense and an MVP candidate of their own in forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Like Boston, Milwaukee has gotten off to a strong start despite playing shorthanded — All-Star forward Khris Middleton has been limited to seven games and has struggled mightily in those appearances, so the Bucks could presumably reach another gear if and when they’re fully healthy and firing on all cylinders.

Both the Celtics and Bucks have been up and down in recent weeks, however. Boston has lost five of seven games and actually has the NBA’s worst offensive rating (107.0) during the month of December. Milwaukee has lost four of its last seven.

As the East’s leaders have struggled, several other would-be contenders have closed the gap at the top of the standings, starting with the Cavaliers. The offseason addition of Donovan Mitchell has helped Cleveland take a step forward this season, while the frontcourt duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley has led the NBA’s best defense (107.2 rating).

Cleveland’s +6.0 net rating is tied with Boston for the league’s best mark. The Cavs also have a pair of victories over Boston under their belts already this season and beat Milwaukee on Wednesday, proving they can hang with the East’s top clubs.

Meanwhile, two teams expected to be title contenders before the season began have been on fire lately after getting off to sluggish starts — the Nets have won eight games in a row and 12 of their last 13, while the Sixers are riding their own seven-game winning streak. Brooklyn is now within two games of the East’s top seed, while Philadelphia is just three games out.

The Nets’ offense has looked in recent weeks like the well-oiled machine that we thought it could be, as they comfortably lead the NBA with a 120.4 offensive rating in December. Kevin Durant has played some of the best basketball of his career, Kyrie Irving is staying out of the news and playing great basketball following his return from an eight-game suspension, and Ben Simmons is looking a whole lot more comfortable on both ends of the court after a concerning start to the season.

Somewhat surprisingly, Philadelphia has been most effective on the defensive end of the ball, trailing only the Cavs with a 108.3 defensive rating, but James Harden and Joel Embiid have been clicking on offense lately too. In a win over the Clippers on Friday, Embiid racked up 44 points while Harden had 21 assists. The offense should take another step forward once Tyrese Maxey returns from a foot injury.

The East’s top five seeds look like the best bets to come out of the conference, but we should also mention the Knicks (18-15), who have the East’s best net rating (+10.2) in December, along with the Hawks (17-16), Pacers (17-16), Heat (16-17), and Raptors (15-18), who are lurking in play-in territory for now.

We want to know what you think. Which team do you expect to finish the regular season holding the East’s No. 1 seed? Will the same club represent the conference in the NBA Finals, or will another team make a deeper playoff run? Do you consider the East to be as wide open as the West, or are there fewer real title threats here beyond the top few seeds?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Rivers: Maxey "Making Great Progress"

December 23rd, 2022 at 7:58pm CST by Rory Maher

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers isn’t confident that Tyrese Maxey will return for Sunday’s matchup against the Knicks, but he provided an encouraging update on Friday, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s making great progress,” Rivers said. “[He] had a great workout [Thursday], so he’s close.” The third-year guard has been sidelined since November 18 after suffering a foot fracture.

Sixers Notes: Melton, Maxey, Tucker, Harden

December 23rd, 2022 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

When the Sixers gave up a first-round pick and Danny Green‘s expiring contract for De’Anthony Melton, they knew they were getting a strong defender who could make a three-point shot, but the former Grizzlies guard has given them “more connective tissue in the half court” than they might have expected, writes ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Insider link).

Melton’s play-making and screening ability has been valuable for Philadelphia, according to Lowe, who notes that the team has scored an average of 1.2 points when a Melton screen leads directly to a shot. That’s 17th among 244 players who have set 50 such screens, Lowe writes, citing Second Spectrum. The 24-year-old has also handed out a career-best 3.3 assists per game.

Melton’s presence has helped the 76ers withstand injury absences for James Harden and Tyrese Maxey in the early part of the 2022/23 season. Despite not opening the season as part of Philadelphia’s starting five, Melton has made 20 starts in 27 appearances so far.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

Given how well the 76ers have played with Melton in the starting lineup (they have a 13-7 record in those games), there has been some speculation about the possibility of bringing Maxey off the bench as the leader of the second unit when he returns from his foot injury. Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com considers the case for making such a move, but ultimately concludes that it’s probably not in the team’s best interest.
In his latest mailbag for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Keith Pompey also argues against making Maxey the sixth man once he’s healthy. Pompey’s mailbag explores several other topics, including whether the Sixers’ three-year, $33MM+ investment in P.J. Tucker will turn out as poorly as the four-year, $109MM deal they gave Al Horford in 2019 — given the relative size of the two deals, Pompey believes there’s no comparison between the two, especially since Horford was never a good fit, while Tucker is beginning to show overall improvement in his role.
In his first seven games back from a foot injury, Harden has averaged nearly 39 minutes per night. However, head coach Doc Rivers isn’t concerned about the former MVP’s heavy recent workload, per Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I’ll guarantee you, by the end of the year, you’ll look at his numbers and they’ll look great,” Rivers said. “It’s a whole year. That’s why we can’t overdo things when guys have a three-week spike in minutes and all of a sudden we’re overreacting to that. You don’t. We’ve been low on guards, and so guys have to play minutes. And James is one of those guys that can handle minutes. But by the end of the year, his minutes will be down.”

Sixers Notes: Harris, Reed, Milton, Embiid

December 22nd, 2022 at 8:03am CST by Arthur Hill

After spending most of his career as an isolation scorer, Sixers forward Tobias Harris concentrated on improving his catch-and-shoot game over the summer to provide a complementary weapon to Joel Embiid and James Harden, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The results have been impressive, as Harris is thriving in the role and the Sixers have reeled off six straight wins. He scored 17 points in 21 minutes Wednesday, two days after sinking a game-winning three-pointer against the Raptors.

Harris is averaging 17.1 points per game this season, which is his lowest mark since being acquired in a trade nearly four years ago. But he’s shooting 42.2% from beyond the arc, which would be the best figure of his career.

“I know that if you threw me out there two years ago, I wouldn’t be able to do it and get going because that wasn’t the mentality for me, catching and shooting really fast,” Harris said. “At first it was tough, but now I kind of changed my mentality toward it and just said like, ‘OK, if that’s the case and situation, how do you be the best at it?’”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

Montrezl Harrell has reclaimed the backup center role from Paul Reed, who has fallen out of the rotation over the past two weeks, Pompey states in a separate story. Reed, who saw just four minutes in Wednesday’s rout of the Pistons, acknowledges that he needs to play better. “You have to handle it like a professional,” he said. “I understand that I have areas that I need to improve on. I ain’t trippin’. I just know I have to get better so I’m putting in the work every day, and I know it’s going to pay off.”
Shake Milton‘s improvement gives the team four rotation-level guards and could lead to some interesting decisions when Tyrese Maxey returns from injury, according to Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. Hofman expects coach Doc Rivers to use more three-guard lineups when the roster is healthy with some mixture of Maxey, Harden, Milton and De’Anthony Melton.
In an interview with Cassidy Hubbarth of ESPN, Embiid rejects the idea that he and Harden aren’t ideal complements to one another. “I don’t know where that’s coming from because last year when we got him, we just kept dominating teams,” Embiid said.

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